Lino Lakes Residents Won't get to Vote on Fire Department Issue

Residents of Lino Lakes will not get to vote on the future of their fire department.

The city council wants to split from the Centennial Fire District, which includes Centerville and Circle Pines. They want to create their own department in 2016.

Residents worried about response times and firefighter training gathered nearly a thousand signatures to put the decision on the November ballot.

But tonight, council said the issue doesn't qualify as a ballot question.

"I’m not a firefighter either and I’m not giving misinformation. I’m giving the facts as well. We just want the voice. We just want people to matter and that's exactly what's not happening from you," said a concerned resident.

City council member Dave Roeser responded, "If we all join together as residents and try to make this better, I think it has a darn good chance of exceeding your wildest ideas of how good this could be."